Connector and hanger for meters.



E. BARTHOLOMAY.

CONNECTOR AND HANGER FOR METERS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.28.1918.

1,282,024. Patented 0'ct.22,1918.

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' EDWARD BARTHOL OMAY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

CONNECTOR AND HANGER FOR METERS.

1,282,024, Specification of Letters Patent; Patented Oct, 22, 1918,

Application filed January 28, 1918. Serial l To. 214,207.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD BARTHOLO- MAY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Connectors and Hangers for Meters, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to connect ing devices for gas meters and to meter supports associated with such devices, an object of the invention being to provide a connecting device which will connect the inlet and the outlet pipings of the meter without creating any strains in the pipings. An other object of the invention is to provide a hanger associated with such connecting means and adapted to rigidly support the meter from such connecting means.

To these and other ends the invention consists of certain parts and combinations of parts, all of which will be hereinafter described, the novel features being pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a front View of a gas meter to which the present invention is shown applied;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2, Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the coupling devices used in the intake or inlet I piping.

Referrin more particularly to the drawings, 1 indicates the meter to the inlet 2 of which a piping 3 is connected through a union 1 rotatably mounted on the piping and engaging a screw-threaded portion 5 on a coupling member 6, which, by a short pipe 7, is connected to the inlet 2. To the outlet 8 of the meter an elbow 9 is connected by a short pipe 10 and has a piping 11 leading therefrom to the service piping of the house.- The elbow 9 is providedwith a spherical or ball-shaped surface 12, while the coupling simple 1n construction and is not liable to member 6 is provided with a spherical or ball-shaped surface 13. These two coupling members of the inlet and outlet pipings are firmly held against lateral movement by a connector 14 which extends above the meter 1 and has clamps at opposite ends engaging the spherical or ball-shaped surfaces 12 and 13. In this instance. the connector has a central portion to which two opposed clamping jaws 15 are held by a bolt 16 ad ustable in the slot 16 so that the distance between the two pairs of clamps may be varied,'the engaging faces of the jaws being concaved.

A bolt 17 also connects the jaws on the outer side of the piping, so that it is possible by the bolts 16 and 17 to firmly draw the jaws 15 into engagement with the ballshaped surfaces 12 and 13.

At the extreme ends of each pair of jaws 15 beyond the bolt 17 extensions 18 are provided, which are spaced apart to provide a recess 19. These recesses at the opposite ends of the connector serve to receive the ends of a hanger 20, said hanger, in this instance, being a rigid frame preferably made in one piece and U-shaped in form, its horizontal portion being passed beneath the meter 1 and its arms extending on opposite sides of the meter and through the recesses 19. The extreme ends of the arms are screwthreaded at 21 and on these screw-threaded portions thumb nuts 22 are mounted, the thumb nuts'being positioned above the connectorso that when tightened they tend to hold the hanger rigidly to the connector against any swinging movement. The coupling members 6 and 9 each have a boss 23 formed with an opening closed by a plug 24. By this arrangement a testing device may be connected to either side of the meter to determine where a stoppage occurs or to take pressure readings.

A connector, constructed in accordance with this invention makes it possible to firmly grip the inlet and the outlet pipings after the latter have been connected to the meter. The ball shaped portions on the couplings in the pipings permit such couplings to be gripped by the connector, notwithstanding the fact that 'the pipings are slightly out of parallelism. This makes it possible to use the connector without plac-- ing the inlet and the outlet pipings under any strain, as is necessary when the connector is not adj ustably clamped to the pipings. The hanger employed in this invention is 1. The combination with a gas meter, an

inlet piping and an outlet piping, of two v clamps each having two adjustably connectecl jaws for engaging about one of the piping, and means connecting said two clamps permitting the relative positions of the clamps to be varied 2. The combination witha gas meter, of an inlet piping provi ie i with a spherical surface, an outletpiping provided with a spherical surface, and a connector having clamps engaging the spherical surface on the two pipings to hold the pipings against relative movement adjacent the meter,

8. In combination with two pipe connections each having a spherical outer surface, a connector having clamps to engage the spherical surfaces ofthe two pipe connections. {i Y 4:, In combination witha pipe elbow and a pipe coupling, each formed with a spherical surface, a connector having clamps at opposite ends engaging the spherical surfaces er the elbow and the coupling.

BARTHQLOEMY. 

